


Use My Heart

by WannaBeBold



Series: The Weight of These Wings [1]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fictober 2020, Fictober Day 17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:49:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27115657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WannaBeBold/pseuds/WannaBeBold
Summary: “Uh. Who are you?” He watched with squinted eyes as the man shuffled the papers in his hands and his phone to one hand as he held out the other.“Oh sorry. Jake Malloy.” Nick took his hand hesitantly but with a firm grip, getting some enjoyment out of how he winced slightly.
Relationships: Ellie Bishop & Nick Torres, Ellie Bishop/Jake Malloy, Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Series: The Weight of These Wings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1979212
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	Use My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This is a canon-divergence fic where Ellie is still married to Jake when Nick comes in in season 14.

Walking around the corner, Nick frowned when he saw he was the only one in the bullpen. Noticing the time he figured Ellie and McGee must’ve gone out to get lunch but Gibbs’ absence puzzled him the most. He was just getting ready to sit down when he heard a buzzing noise coming from Gibbs’ desk and frowned. Curious, he walked over and was getting ready to pick it up when the name on the screen stopped him. “Ellie Belly what the hell?” Staring at the phone, he jumped when he heard a man’s voice behind him. 

“Oh uh, sorry. I left my phone down here.” It had stopped ringing as soon as it was picked up and Nick couldn’t help but stare at the man before him. 

“Uh. Who are you?” He watched with squinted eyes as the man shuffled the papers in his hands and his phone to one hand as he held out the other. 

“Oh sorry. Jake Malloy.” Nick took his hand hesitantly but with a firm grip, getting some enjoyment out of how he winced slightly. 

“Ellie’s husband, right.” Dropping his hand, Nick flexed before crossing his arms over his chest. 

“That’s me. And you must be her new teammate.”

“Nick Torres. And we’re more like partners really.”

“Partners huh?” Nick just nodded, still staring him down. After a moment of silence the elevator dinged and Ellie walked out, stopping in her tracks as she saw her husband and partner sizing each other up. Stepping hesitantly into the bullpen, she sat the bag of food down on her desk and glanced back and forth between them before addressing the first issue. 

"Jake… what're you doing here?" With one last look at Nick he turned to face Ellie. Ignoring her question for now he pulled her into a hug, kissing her longer than normal in public, and leaving an arm around her when he pulled back. 

"Oh I just thought I'd surprise my wife for lunch." 

"Sorry Jake but it's a rough case and we have to work through lunch. And I was just calling to let you know I won't be home tonight since Nick and I are on surveillance duty." Jake's eyes flashed then with anger causing Ellie to internally cringe and Nick to clench his jaw as he watched his tough as nails partner appear to shrink away from her husband who just kept his grip on her hip. 

"But I thought we were going out tonight." 

"I know Jake but it really can't be helped. Now can we talk about this later please?" Jake begrudgingly agreed and placed a hard kiss on Ellie's temple, mumbling something about talking to her later, sending a stiff nod to Nick before walking up the stairs. Waiting until the doors to Vance’s office closed behind Jake, Ellie turned to Nick who was trying his best to appear neutral. "Sorry about that. He uh, well since starting NCIS we haven't gotten to spend as much time together as before and I think it's starting to take a toll." 

"Hey, no need to apologize B." Instinctively he reached out a hand and squeezed her arm gently in comfort. "If uh, you wanna go have lunch with him I can cover for you." 

"No that's okay. We need to get to work anyway." She was quiet for a moment as she went back to her desk before holding up the to-go bag. "I brought back lunch. McGee and Gibbs are out following a lead so I figured we could eat while working on paperwork." 

"Sounds good. So what's for lunch?" He made his way over to her desk, leaning against the filing cabinet behind her as she pulled out the food. 

"I stopped at that taco cart you introduced me to last month." Handing over a small styrofoam container, Nick opened it up to reveal his usual order, two shrimp tacos and rice. 

“Have I ever told you you’re the best? Cause it’s true.” Ellie smiled at his words as he started eating behind her. Opening up her container, she got to work, grabbing bites of food in between filling Nick in on her findings. After a few minutes, Nick just stood behind her, leaning over her shoulder so he could look along with her. They were so into what was on the computer that the sound of a voice coming from the top of the stairs made them jump, sending the remnants of Nick’s last taco over Ellie’s shoulder and down her shirt, immediately making her jump out of her chair.

“Oh my gosh Bishop I’m so sorry.” Scrambling, Nick grabbed napkins from her desk and immediately started patting her shirt, trying to help clean up the mess. Realizing where his hand was Nick froze, glancing from his hand on her chest to Ellie who was looking straight at him, they didn’t move until the voice that caused this accident came closer. 

“What the hell is going on here?!” 

“Jake!” Ellie jumped back like she had been burned and spun around to face her husband who was now standing at the edge of the bullpen with his hands on his hips, staring Nick down.

“Care to explain?” Nick started to speak, ready to defend his partner, when Ellie rested a hand on his arm and sent him a reassuring look to calm him down. 

“Not here Jake. Follow me. I need to change shirts anyway.” Grabbing her go bag, Ellie grabbed Jake’s hand, leading him down the hall to the women’s restroom and locking them inside. Going into a stall to change shirts, she could hear Jake pacing and waited for him to start the conversation. She didn’t have to wait long.

“What the hell Ellie?!”

“Jake I promise it was an accident. We were so into the case when we heard your voice that Nick dropped his taco and it went down my shirt. He was just helping me clean it up.”

“Really? That’s what you’re going with?” Coming out of the stall she took her old shirt to the sink and started scrubbing to get the spots of salsa out. 

“Yes. Because it’s the truth.” Jake scoffed, making Ellie look at him through the mirror.

“Yeah, sure. What? I’m gone for five minutes and you just let your new partner start feeling you up? Is that why you’ve been taking all of these stakeouts with him? You guys are really just sleeping together aren’t you?” Ellie’s expression turned lethal and she spun around, speaking quietly but with a strength she didn’t know she possessed. 

“Get out.” Rolling his eyes behind his glasses, Jake stood still. 

“Now come on Ellie you don’t really mean that.” 

“Oh yes I do. Now get out of here before I have to get someone to escort you out.” Holding up his hands, Jake backed up to the bathroom door. 

“Fine. Fine. We’ll talk about this later.” Not having a response Ellie only stared at him, watching as he unlocked the door and let himself out. Giving herself time to calm down, she scrubbed her shirt furiously before finally giving up and throwing it on the counter, deciding to come back to it later. Feeling a wetness still against her chest she looked down at her shirt and groaned when she realized that some of the taco had gone in her bra and soaked into the fabric. Reaching behind her she tried to undo the clasp to no avail and resigned herself to staying in it the rest of the day when a knock on the door made her jump. 

“Hey Bishop, you decent?”

“Uh yeah Alex! Come in.” The door opened slowly and their newest team member appeared. Stepping into the room, Alex closed the door behind her and leaned against it, looking her friend over.

“Everything okay? You look like you’ve been crying.” Bringing a hand up to her eyes, she was surprised to find wetness there and let out a long sigh as she leaned against the counter. 

“Yeah I’m uh, I’m good. It’s just Jake. He didn’t like me taking the job here to begin with and now…” She trailed off, not sure how much to share. 

“Now... what?”

“He accused me of sleeping with Nick!” Alex’s eyes widened in shock. She definitely wasn’t expecting this when Nick asked her to check on Ellie. 

“What?! What would make him think that?” 

“When he walked down the stairs earlier he uh, kinda saw Nick patting my chest…” Alex’s jaw dropped open and Ellie rushed to explain. “We were looking over reports and he accidentally dropped the rest of his taco down my shirt because he was looking over my shoulder and well, without thinking he tried to help me clean it up and that’s when Jake walked in. He accused me of having an affair with Nick.” Alex’s hand came over her mouth in shock. Not knowing what to do she stood still for a moment until Ellie started crying harder. “I just can’t believe he would say that.” 

“Oh Ellie.” Stepping forward, Alex held out her arms to her friend as Ellie stepped into them. “I’m sorry, you really don’t deserve that.” 

“Thanks Alex.” Pulling back, Ellie wiped the tears off her face. Another knock sounded on the door followed by it slowly opening to reveal her partner. 

“Uh, hey guys. B, Gibbs wants us up in MTAC. You good?” Nick glanced her over, taking in her red eyes and slightly disheveled appearance. He wanted to go to her but after the incident in the bullpen he didn’t know if it would be welcome or not. 

“Um yeah just uh,  **give me a minute. Or an hour.** ” The last part was said under her breath, causing Nick to look at her curiously before just nodding and walking out. As soon as the door closed behind him Ellie let out a breath. She just had to push Jake’s words to the back of her mind and focus on the case. That’s all she could do for now. 

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Miranda Lambert's "Use My Heart"


End file.
